The fuel mixture contains 15% methanol, a simple form of alcohol and derived from liquified natural gas. According to Dor Chemical chemical engineers, methanol burns cleaner than ordinary gasoline and is also cheaper to produce.

In the cooperative agreement, with Ten Petroleum 10, ordinary cars of various types are being given the fuel mixture in order to determine how the engines will perform on the mixture, as opposed to gasoline. As part of the project, no adjustments or modifications have been made to the car engines. Another 3 cars will act as control vehicles and will run on ordinary gasoline.

Dani Ben-Ner, CEO of Ten Petroleum, says that if this initial test project is successful he will be happy to participate in a large test of 500 or more cars. “In the second stage of the pilot project, we will introduce methanol at all our gas stations. First in relatively low levels of 15 percent; but I believe that in the future also at higher levels,” he told the local Haaretz newspaper.

He believes that including 15 percent methanol in a mix with gasoline could save Israel $3.95 billion USD in imported oil and refined petroleum products, and save some $1.85 Billion in spending on gasoline. Cost savings to consumers are estimated to be from 5 to 7 percent over ordinary fuels. Now that Israel has a glut of natural gas, this could be a welcome move in the energy industry.

The only drawback is whether the methanol, which does not burn as efficiently as gasoline, will cause any form of long term damage to car engines. Scientists involved in the project estimate it will take several months to determine if burning this new fuel mixture will not cause undue engine wear due to having a lower energy output.

Naturally, it was much easier to bring natural gas overland from Egypt, and Jordan needed this gas even more than Israel does. Unfortunately, Islamist extremists in Egypt are so much against the “Zionest Entity” receiving this gas that they are willing to deny it to Jordan as well.

Hopefully soon this gas will be coming from the wells in the eastern Med, and then it can be supplied to countries like Jordan.

In Germany just a few years back the initial attempt to introduce a flex fuel (E10) was a costly public relations disaster. Fuel companies such as Aral and Shell were faced with confused customers and drivers refused to buy E10 lead-free fuel after widely reported damage to the engines of some manufacturers vehicles. This led to panic buying of normal unleaded petrol which ran out in days.